Day 36

Do you see the picture of Zelda on the cat tree? Now compared to Casey, Zelda looks huge!! Zelda only weighs around 8 pounds herself, so she is fairly small!







Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 732 grams or 25.8 ounces
Casey - 650 grams or 22.7 ounces
Eric - 830 grams or 29.2 ounces

Day 35

I was so hoping to tell you we had litter box training well underway, but alas it was a fluke. This morning Casey got into the litter box, turned 3 times, and then he pooed!! I was so excited!! Nope, no encore performances though!! Oh well, it was a step in the right direction, right?!

Poor kitties!! They are so spoiled!! They simply refuse to eat the hard food to get to the softer food. I covered the soft food with dry food this afternoon, and they just didn't eat. Not to worry though, they all managed to gain weight, so it couldn't have been as bad as I think.

The kittens have made it very clear that they like their cat condo. Today it was sitting outside the playpen. Eric kept climbing out to get to the condo. Once Lee figured it out and placed the condo in the playpen, Eric stayed happily in there.

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 726 grams or 25.7 ounces
Casey - 636 grams or 22.3 ounces
Eric - 820 grams or 28.9 ounces

Day 34

Today the kittens were full of piss and vinegar, playing rough with each other and climbing out of the playpen! Nothing like hearing 5 week old kittens "fight" it out, then suddenly they are asleep in a pile on the floor! Why would anyone want just one kitten at a time?! To really enjoy it, you need at least 2!!

Eric has known how to climb out of the playpen for a few days now, but today he seemed to make it his mission! I am SO not ready for these guys to be all over yet!!

Yay, Rosey!! Rosey has completely mastered climbing up and down the cat condo! The three of them now fall asleep up there. It is crowded, so that might get interesting in a few days!! I got a video of them playing, but I do not know how to put video up here.

Hmm, all the pictures from today are of sleeping kitties!! I don't know how that happened!! Do you see Rosey sleeping with his chin across Eric's back? It makes me think of the "Lean On Me" song :-)

YAY!! YAY!! YAY!!! All 3 kittens are now weighing in at over 20 ounces!!

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 680 grams or 24 ounces
Casey - 598 grams or 21.1 ounces
Eric - 756 grams or 26.7 ounces

Day 33

Well, we missed the update for day 33.....We did get pictures and weights though, and that is the fun stuff :-)

That picture of Rosey was taken when he was "attacking" the camera. Do you see Casey's eyes in that picture of him? I think it is the first GOOD picture we have of his eyes! They always have an evil red glow!

The ones of the kittens sleeping were taken on and in the cat condo. Eric is asleep, hanging off the edge of the top. Casey is asleep in the middle, and Rosey is still floor level bound.

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 664 grams or 23.4 ounces
Casey - 560 grams or 19.7 ounces
Eric - 716 grams or 25.40 ounces

Day 32

Well, the past month has been full of busy, busy days. The kittens have thrived nicely, despite a few bumps in the road. They are showing real interest in the litter pan, just ot in actually using it yet. Oh well, we are moving in the right direction there, and they show no desire to eat the litter at this point, so... We'll see.

Kittens fall asleep anywhere at anytime!! Do you see that Picture of Casey? He is sleeping! Yep! The is a little cat condo that has 2 cubby holes, and then a platform top. Eric has shown great skill and agility in his ability to scale and decend the cat condo with speed. Casey on the other hand shows great ability in climbing up, but he is not so sure how to get back down. Rosey just doesn't mess with the up and down of the condo so much. Anyway, Casey got all the way up to the top, Eric was in the middle cubby, and Rosey was in the first floor cubby. The three were batting at each other, when suddenly Eric and Casey just stopped moving. Eric was hanging out of the cubby, and well you see how Casey was sleeping! Rosey eventually gave up and fell asleep in the other cubby hole. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a good picture of Eric in his sleeping position.

All 3 kittens have discovered the art of drinking out of a bowl. No more bottles!! YAY!!! That water dish is a style we have been eyeing for years, but never wanted to spend the money on. A few days ago I found this one on www.craigslist.org, new in the box, for only $5.00! We figured we would use it for the kittens, thinking it was the smaller size, but it was the larger size. It is big enough for all :-) Don't the kittens look big, and oh yeah CUTE, drinking!?

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 630 grams or 22.2 ounces
Casey - 538 grams or 19 ounces
Eric - 682 grams or 24.10 ounces

Day 31

The kittens are turning into real lovers! They are all happiest cuddling close and being held. Casey is learning how to "kiss". He often will just touch his mouth to my mouth, kind of like a pecking motion. Every once in awhile he forgets and tries to bite my lip, but he seems to understand no bite.

We are making baby steps in the litter box training effort, and I am sure it will all click in place soon!

We bought a harness for the kittens today, hoping to start them getting used to it. I really should have taken a picture, as it was HUGE on them! I will take a picture tomorrow of one of them in it. Anyway, we would really like to get these guys leash trained. I guess by the time they are actually big enough to WEAR the harness, they will be ready to adjust to leash life.

We started sprinkling hard dry kitten food on top of their warm moist kitten food, in a start toward weaning them to the dry stuff. It was a comical scene indeed. Casey went right after the hard food, and seemed to enjoy the different texture. His brothers were not too thrilled about the dry stuff though! Eric avoided it as much as he possibly could, and ate around it to get to the soft food. Rosey on the other hand picked the dry food up in his mouth, and promptly disposed of it on the mat outside the bowl. You could actually hear him spitting it out! Sorry Rosey, like I told you earlier, it is only a sign of more to come! Can you say spoiled kittens?

A few days ago, we discovered that while the kittens look very different, there are some similarities they all share. They all 3 have 4 white paws, with similar patterns of white. Now, if you look at the pictures, look closely, you will see that on the right side of their upper lips, just under the nose, they all have a lighter colored dot! They all 3 have this rather unusual dot, and it is really cool, as it just ties them all together.

Pictures: See how big the kittens are getting? You can see them on the bed with Zelda. I thought that picture of Casey sleeping was just too funny! Kitten tipping??

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 594 grams or 21 ounces
Casey - 495 grams or 17.6 ounces
Eric - 626 grams or 22 ounces

Day 30

These guys are getting BIG!! They are eating extremely well, to the point that we no longer weigh and measure all their food! They aren't drinking out of a bowl yet, so we still give them a couple of bottles each day. Eric acts like he knows what to do with water or a bowl of milk, but after a sip he is finished. They all 3 still really interested in the bottle, so I am gonna be a pushover and let them keep for awhile longer :-)

We have still made no progress on the litter box front, mainly because I am reluctant to leave the kittens with a litter box. I am sure they will figure it out soon :-)

Well, it is official!! All three kittens now weigh in at heavier than a pound!! YAY!!!! These little kittens are getting so big!!

Pictures: See that picture of Casey sleeping? Those are his teeth! It is hard to get a picture of kitten teeth, you ever tried!? Heeheeheehee!!! Oh, and Casey and Rosey are chasing Sandy's tail! They are definitely learning how to play with almost anything!

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 604 grams or 21.3 grams, up 444 grams (15.66 ounces)
Casey - 502 grams or 17.7 ounces, up 356 grams (12.56 ounces)
Eric - 618 grams or 21.8 ounces, up 358 grams (12.63 ounces) in 25 days :-)

Day 29

Aside from a couple of new toys, not much going on in the kitten world. They eat, they drink, they pee, they poop, and they sleep! Today they slept a lot!

I did a Google search on a behavior that Rosey has, that I had been putting off. You see, he likes to pretend Casey is his bottle. You can imagine what I was afraid of might come up on that search, but it is normal for bottle fed kittens!! WHEW!! Now we just have to keep doing what we have been doing, moving Rosey away, and it will stop....eventually!! WHY, OH WHY are there no such thing as kitten pacifier!?

The kittens have new toys that make jingle noises. It is hard to know if they like the noise or the toy more! They chew on any of them they can get into their mouths. They love trying to escape from the playpen. It is funny to see Zelda in the playpen, at only 7 or 8 pounds, she is gigantic compared to the kittens. Zelda can reach the top rail with her back feet still on the ground. It is hard to believe that our teeny tiny will be that big in just a few months!!

Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you how Casey rears up on his back legs to "attack" his brothers. He is the only kitten I have seen do it, and it is pretty funny! This itty bitty ball of white fur with 4 short little legs, trying to look big and ferocious!!

OH!!! Today Casey more than TRIPLED his weight!! YAY CASEY!!!! I missed it yesterday, but Eric DOUBLED his weight!! YAY ERIC!!!!!

Pictures: Like I said, they slept A LOT today! In the top picture, Rosey and Casey are piled on top of Eric while they all slept. The next 3 pictures were taken just because Rosey was sleeping in such a funny position. Oh, and speaking of funny positions, do you see his front paws in the bottom picture?! Yes, hiw paws are up over his haed while he is sleeping!

Kitten Weights;
Rosey - 570 grams or 20.00 ounces
Casey - 440 grams or 15.60 ounces
Eric - 576 grams or 20.30 ounces

Day 28

The kittens are proving that they have learned how to eat, and they enjoy showing off that skill anytime!! I often think that Casey must wonder why he didn't figure out this food thing faster, as he will eat and eat until all the food is gone!

Do you see that placemat and bowl? They are from a nice guy we found on www.craigslist.org. The bowl is perfect for feeding the kittens, and the placemat limits the mess :-)

Today Casey got all the way to the top of the scratching post!! YAY Casey!! The 3 of them now place king of the scratching post, pulling and knocking each other off! It is very funny to watch one on top being pushed at and bitten at and everything else, so another kitten can take over that spot, only to have the whole thing start again! Seeing these guys play like this is great, considering they we so incredibly smallwhen they first moved in!!

Speaking of how small they were, those of you with kids will understand this....Today it really hit me how BIG the kittens are!! You know, how suddenly you see they aren't the fragile little beings you brought home! I said something to someone tonight about how big the kittens are, and he laughed :-)

Sandy is still very involved in the kittens' lives and care!

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 520 grams or 18.3 ounces
Casey - 404 grams or 14.20 ounces
Eric - 530 grams or 18.8 ounces

Day 27

Here I am at home again; all that stress from the last couple of days has Terri experiencing a migraine for the first time in a long while. Eric still hasn't thrown up again. I fed him about 1 tablespoon from a bottle early this morning. We're all trying to stay quiet so Terri can get over her migraine soon.

10:15 update. Eric just had a second bottle, about 1½ tablespoons this time. I'm afraid to give him more at one time yet, after yesterday. He definitely seems like he's ready to eat, but the same thing happened yesterday morning, and the result of letting him eat all he wanted was another upset tummy. I'll give him some more in a little while.

Meanwhile, Rosey and Casey are digging in to the semi-soft food again. Gotta try giving Eric some of that later on today again, I suppose. I forgot to mention before that Casey apparently slept in poop last night, his tummy was just covered, and I had to wash him off this morning. I'm definitely interested in getting the litter training started soon! And...Eric has started trying to wash himself! He is so cute, licking his feet, and usually losing his balance :-)

Evening update: Today all the kittens did very well. It has been determined that Casey is definitely an eater. No matter what, Casey will eat. Rosey and Eric are both inclined to explore during meal time, but Casey just uses the extra plate space to his advantage!

Eric has learned to crawl out of the playpen, so in the next few days we will have to fashion a top. Eric apparently liked the extra attention he got while he wasn't feeling well. I picked him up this afternoon, and he just laid on my lap like a puppy, he was on his back with all 4 legs in the air. While Lee was holding him, I went to soak in the tub. Lee brought Eric in there, and he was laying on my chest. He moved to get up, and jumped right into the tub! I grabbed him so quickly he barely got wet, and it scared ME much more than Eric!

Today Rosey surpassed Eric in weight, and by quite a large amount! We might actually be getting to the point where these guys start gaining an ounce or so each day! Who knows, but it would be nice to get some meat on them! Oh, I almost missed the fact that Rosey has TRIPLED his weight!!

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 554 grams or 19.3 ounces
Casey - 415 grams or 14.55
Eric - 506 grams or 17.8 ounces

Day 26

What a day. Terri will be filling in details soon, hopefully. She was so stressed after Eric's throwing up Saturday, she hardly slept, and I stayed home from work Sunday morning to help keep a handle on things. Eric ate like a pig first thing, finishing a 3½ tablespoon bottle, and a little later another 2½ tablespoons. And Casey and Rosey ate really well from their plate of semi-solid food! So, I headed for work half-way through the day, only to hear a little later that Eric was throwing up again! I got home and held onto Eric for a little while, wrapped in a towel, and called a vet for advice. Eric was very lethargic, but hadn't thrown up for awhile by this time, and the doctor suggested just feeding a little at a time once an hour or so to see if his tummy would settle down. That seemed to work, and Eric didn't throw up again by the time we went to bed around 12:30.

Terri says: I really thought we had lost Eric. He was laying in my lap with his eyes glazed over and 1/2 shut, and his tongue was hanging out. I moved him and poked around several times before he moved or made any noise. It was then that I called Lee and told him things were not good.

By about 9:00 or so last night, our boy was bouncing back.

Casey has discovered food, and boy does he enjoy it!! Casey eats better than Rosey, and just about as good as Eric. Casey has also learned how to "fight back" when they play, and he will even instigate it. Not bad since not too long ago he would get sat on and picked on by his bigger brothers!

Rosey, well Rosey is just funny about this eating thing. It is almost as if each meal he needs to be reminded what to do. He wants nothing to do with the food until well after Casey has been eating. I say only Casey there, since Eric's food intake has been limited. Anyway, he then will go and sniff the food, then gingerly take a bite. It gradually works up to him eating, but he needs to learn faster :-) Casey and Eric are going to get to the point of eating a lot more if it is available, and Rosey might miss out!

Kitten Weights:
Rosey - 470 grams or 16.50 ounces
Casey - 380 grams or 13.35 ounces
Eric - 477 grams or 16.80 ounces

Day 25 - another late update

OH BOY!! Yesterday started out well and very ordinary, everyone was eating and doing everything Kitten. At 2:00 P.M., we had an appointment for their first vet visit. The kittens got a clean bill of health, with the exception of a slight upper respiratory infection. They are on medication now, and I am sure all will be well.

So, the good things from yesterday were that while we were in the vet's office, the kittens atarted to act like they were starving, Eric was even trying to eat a sheet of paper! I ran out and grabbed a can of kitten food, brought it back into the room, and set some out for Eric. Once Eric was eating, we started working with Rosey and Casey. We placed the food on a tongue depresser, and that seemed to do the trick. For the first few minutes, we allowed them both to just chew on the food covered stick, and eventually they were all 3 eating from paper towels on the exam table!! YAY!!!

So, when we got home, we placed the kittens in their playpen with the litterpan. We figured they were okay, and the pan would be okay there, so we opted to take a little nap. Let me say now, thank God I had read that kittens should have a NATURAL litter, since they are like babies and will eat anything....We got up and noticed that "someone" had thrown up a bit on the corner of the litter pan. Lee cleaned it up, and we went on with trying to get the boys fed. I noticed that Eric was not at all active, and had that UGH look about him.

I was holding Eric while Lee got the other kittens eating. Lee was standing next to Eric and me, when Eric threw up again. It was all over the place. Oh, I forgot to mention that he did try to take a bottle just before he threw up....So began a nightmare that lasted about 3 more hours. Eric slept and slept, waking only to throw up a few more times. We held him close and watched him like hawks. I had him snuggled up on the bed, figuring I would want him close overnight, when Sandy came to see him. About the same time, Eric suddenly perked up and well he has been just fine since then!

I just happened to have been reading about litter training the other day, and it was casually mentioned that kittens should absolutely not have the clumping clay litter because they eat things. Often times, I don't heed these types of "orders", but with these kittens I did. I figured with kittens raised by their mothers learned to not eat teh litter from their mother, as all of the other kittens we have had have never eaten the litter!!

Anyway, we have recycled pine litter for the kittens. It apparently did cause a blockage, causing Eric to feel really sick, but eventually broke down enough for his little body to pass. Had it been clay....

So, by the time we got Erica feeling better, we were well addled. We let teh 3 of them play until they were tired out. Once again we did not get daily kitten weights.

So now, we are at a stalemate with this litter training. They NEED to figure it out, but just haven't gotten yet. They will, I know, but I want it now ;-)